Abel morrall



ABEL MORRALL, OF STUDLEY, WARWICK, GREAT BRITAIN. f

IVIANUFACTURE OF NEEDLES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 1,437, dated December 21, 1839.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ABEL MORRALL, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and now residing in the parish of Studley, in the county of `Warwick and Kingdom of England, needle-maker, have invented or discovered a new and useful InventionV of Certain Improvements in the Making or Manufacturing of Needles and in the Machinery or Apparatus Employed Therein; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

My improvements in making or manufacturing needles and in the machinery or apparatus to be employed therein consist in an improved mode of clearing and finishing the eyes of sewing needles by removing any burs, feathers, or sharp edges from the inside of the eyes of such needles, which without being so cleared and finished would be subject to cut the thread in the operation kof sewing. As I do not propose anyvaria-l 'tions in the other parts of the operations of manufacturing needles it will be unnecessary forme to describe the usual modes by which that manufacture is conducted. I shall therefore confine this specification or description to my improved process and to the construction of the machinery by which I effect the object above stated.

I take any convenient number of needles in any state of their manufacture after the eyes have been pierced, punched, or otherwise formed, either before or after the needles have been hardened or scoured and what is technically called cured or drilled, and through the eyes of a series of these needles I pass a fine wire the surface of which I prefer to be roughed or indented by a file or otherwise, or the wire may be made with an angular edge or edges or charged with a composition of some grinding or polishing material as emery and oil or it is possible that some string or cord of animal, mineral, or vegetable matter charged with a grinding or polishing material might answer the purpose. When a series of these needles have been thus spitted or strung I then distend the wire, string, or cord carrying the needles, in arms or bearings in any convenient machine or apparatus for the purpose of giving to the needles a very considerable shaking or reciprocating agitation when the rubbing of the interior of the eyes of the needles against the wire string or co-rd on which they are spitted or strung will cause the burs, feathers, or sharp edges to be ground, polished, or burnished oil' and the eyes tol be rendered perfectly smooth within.

In the accompanying drawing, 'Figure l represents a front View of my most improved construction of machine to be employed for this purpose. inclosed in a box or case shown in section at a a a; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same machine; and Fig. 3 a vertical section taken Ithrough the middle of Fig. l looking toward the left.

An axle b mounted in plummer blocks in the case has the wheels or arms o c c fixed upon it in which wheels or arms are distended the wires, string, or cords d Z Z when the needles have been spitted or strung upon them. i

A more `simple plan` of the machine is represented at Fig. 4 by means of which in the first instance I will describe themode of conducting the* operation.

The needles having been spitted or strung upon the wires as said (which wire I prefer to be of hardened steel) the ends of these wires are made fast to the arms or rims of the wheels c c c and they may be support-l ed in the middle by standard rods e e extending from the axle o having a spring at the end to receive the wire. The axle is then put into motion by any convenient means ca-V pable of giving to the arms or wheels a quick reciprocating action; that is moving them to and fro through a small part of a rotation and back again with great rapidity. By

these means the needles will be made to swing about upon the wires in a confined way and the roughness of the wire operating upon the interior of the needles will grind, polish, or burnish off all burs, feathers, or other sharp edges which may have been left by the cutting tools in the piercing or opening of the eye.

The operation is performed by similar means in the improved construction of machines shown at Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The axle 7) carrying the arms or wheels c c c with the wires on which the needles are spitted o-r strung receives a rapid reciprocating movement for the purpose of shaking about the needles by means of a bow and string applied to the pulley f or by any other convenient contrivance; but in this instance the wires are made to turn in the arms or wheels and in an opposite direction to that in which the arms or wheels move, thereby causing The machine isl t in Which the Wires E are fixed. And Ain order Ymuch less time than Would be required by at its ends to the boX or case as shown at the Wire as they fly around and-the abrasion Vthough Ihave shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 a Q l Y 1,43#

the Wires to produce additional friction on the eyesof the needles and consequently performing the clearing polishing, or burn-Y ishing Voperation with greater elfect and in the more simple machine shown at Fig.` 4

to give the required movements to the WiresV d I fix their ends by means ofscrews Z Z in loose studs g g g Which turnin the armsA or rims of the Wheels 0 'o c. Each pair of. studs areconnected together by a bent rod h t 7L and upon one of the Vstuds is flxeda pulleyi z' and a vtight stationary band la is passed over all the pulleys and made fastv Figs. l and 2. By this'arrangement WhenY the arms or Wheels are made to VVmove around in one direction the Wires *arel turned in the opposite directioniand hence theV eyes Vof the needles are subject to the double effect of their own friction against the surface of of the rough surface of the `Wire turning the reverse Way.

Lastly I desire Vitrto be understood that peculiar construction of machine which `I have found to be Well suited to theeffective performance of' the operation of i clearing, polishing, or burnishing the eyes of needles yet I do not intend to confine myself to such aV peculiar construction of machine, as the efect might be obtained by ai variety of other forms of apparatus in which needles beingspitted or strung upon Wires or strings and submittedto quick agitation might have their eyes cleared, polished, or burnished by such-means, and thereforel should consider anysuch variation as embracing the principles of myginvention as set out above.

The invention claimed by me and intended to be secured by Letters Patent 4consists The spitting orstrin'gingi of needles upon a steelv or other Wire or on any suitable substance which may be passed 'through the eyes thereof and which either by means of y edges orteeth formed thereon or by therapplication of'some grinding or polishingmaterial thereto shall removefthe asperities from said eyes 'and render them perfectlyv smooth by givingto said needles While so substantially in themanner herein Vset forth.

,strung a shaking or `reciprocating motion y In Witness whereof I, 'the said AnnLiMoRj- RALL, have hereunto set myfh'and` and seal one thousand eight i thissecond day of May, hundred and thirty nine.

ABEL MoRRAfLL.V [La] A Vitnessesz CHARLES BARTLETr,

' JAMES GoDso. 

